490BC: The Greeks defeated the Persians under Darius at the Battle of Marathon. Philippides had run 150 miles in two days in a futile attempt to ask the Spartans to assist the Greek army, but in the end their help was not required.

1759: The British under General Wolfe won the Battle of Quebec - but Wolfe died in the fighting. His last word was "harmony".

1788: New York became federal capital of the new United States of America.

1874: Composer Arnold Schoenberg was born in Vienna. As a triskaidekaphobe (someone afraid of the number 13), he predicted he would die on the 13th at the age of 76 (7+6=13). He did, on July 13, 1951, at 13 minutes to midnight.

1915: The process for making breakfast cereal flakes was patented by Frank Martin. Previously the combination of corn, oats and grain had proved indigestible.

1944: William Heath Robinson, the English artist known for his drawings of complex machinery which performed simple tasks, died.

1957: The Mousetrap became Britain's longest running play, reaching its 1,998th performance.

1970: In Mexico for the World Cup, England captain Bobby Moore was accused of stealing a diamond bracelet from a shop. After being kept under house arrest, he was released and charges were dropped.

1985: The World Health Organisation declared Aids a worldwide epidemic.

LAST YEAR: The US military apologised for the fatal shooting of eight Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian security guard in Iraq.